Chuck, that is an interesting development. Lower clock speeds mean less power drawn, that is true. Automotive applications (especoally engine control) consist of a large number of calculations done repetitively in a short time. Couple the extra cores with virtualization software and you can get great performance with lots less power.
I agree, Naperlou. It's interesting to see that multicore is gaining ground, not just because of its raw processing power, but because it offers lower power consumption.
I would think that multicore might also help automakers do what they've been trying to do for years -- that is, cut the number of microcontrollers in vehicles. Some of the more complex high-end vehicles are now using 80 or 90 MCUs each.
Two of the cores serve as basic microprocessors and one handles all of the I/O controls, which makes a lot of sense because I/O operations and handling various streams of serial data from sensors, microcontrollers, and wireless links could weigh heavily on the dual core portion of the chip. The 3-processor chip offers some redundancy as well as error-detection and error-correction technologies, mandatory for safety-critical equipment.
The Freescale processor will run the AUTOSAR operating system, available from other software suppliers. For information, visit: http://www.autosar.org/download/R4.0/AUTOSAR_SWS_OS.pdf. I believe version 4 supports multicore processors.
I've seen two performance advantages from a multicore design. Since many high-end designs use an OS that time slices the various tasks performed by the application, a multicore can now devote an entire core to a specific task. The next boost is from designs that had multiple processors. Rather than having a communication link between the various processors, the processors now share the same resources and cohabitate together without having to communicate.
A new battery design, which replaces lithium with abundant and low-cost elemental sulfur, is still in its nascent stages but shows real promise for giving batteries more energy potential.
PTC will offer a virtual desktop environment for its Creo product design applications, potentially freeing engineers to run them from remote desktops on a variety of operating systems and mobile devices.
The push to achieving more intelligent, integrated manufacturing is putting a strong focus on networking and connectivity as key enabling technologies.
Now that solar and wind harvesting technologies are a thriving market, researchers are seeking other environmentally related energy sources for which they can create harvesting devices.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
7 
